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Chapter 13: (Un)Lucky

"I'm sure you can understand that I'm in a bit of a predicament here," Winter started slowly, picking and choosing his words carefully as his son and his son's friend sat on the opposing couch. The tension made it hard to think for Ivan, not that his father was really addressing him to begin with. Alfred nodded slowly, that adorable little curl that sprout up from the top of his head bobbing along with the movement.

"It'd look bad if your son was with Hell spawn like me," Alfred filled in for him, his voice quiet and soothing, that sweet tone that surely could lure many a man or woman into his arms and his bed. Winter gave him a curt nod in return, and Ivan's heart clenched in pain when his best friend hunched in on himself, shuddering somewhat.

"Now, that isn't to say I don't think you and Ivan could be very good friends," Ivan's father continued, the old vampire lacing his fingers together before he leaned in, elbows on his knees and chin resting on his hands. Eyeing the two closely, he took a few pauses before he was able to fully continue. "What I mean is, it would be more problematic if I were to be seeing you. The good thing is, I have no intention whatsoever."

"Yes, I know," Alfred murmured, and Ivan could tell that he meant it. Being able to more or less read minds certainly had its upsides. Winter grunted somewhat and then stood up, Ivan subtly sliding his hand onto Alfred's thigh, finding his hand and holding it tightly.

Winter turned away from them, feet shoulder width apart and back straight as a broom, his hands clasped behind him in a very military-esque pose of attention. The pounding in Ivan's ears only beat faster and faster as his father couldn't even face his embarrassment of a son, and that realization hurt Ivan more than anything else could have, at this point. "Ivan…" and now it was his turn to face Winter's true wrath, for he must have been saving it all for him given how little anger he had shown towards Alfred. "It is none of my business who you involve yourself with, so long as you are staying out of trouble. I know this… Alfred must mean a good deal to you, so I… hope it continues to stay that way."

"Father," the word was incredibly difficult to say, just as this entire conversation was incredibly difficult to believe. Alfred squeezed his hand, and the action comforted Ivan enough for the teenaged vampire to let out the breath he barely even knew he was holding. He had to say something! This was just… unreal. "Thank you…"

Winter held up his hand to cut him off, Ivan instantly shutting his mouth as his father looked over his shoulder at him, those eyes piercing and hard to read. "Now. As for whatever it was I just walked in on," he continued, swiveling around to face his son again. The teens flinched, Ivan's pale knuckles even whiter from how tightly he held on to his best friend, fearing that if his grip lessened, his precious Alfred would disappear in an instant. "I want nothing to do with that. You're teenagers, you're young, I respect that. Just... don't be stupid. I know you are both smart enough to not cause any problems so just… keep that to yourselves."

"Thank you, sir," Alfred blushed darkly, his eyes wide behind the glasses that rested on his hot cheeks. Ivan quickly glanced at Alfred, their minds syncing when they made eye contact. Ivan's heart throbbed in his chest as that now-familiar burning sensation in his belly made him shudder with anticipation, Alfred having a similar reaction as his eyes kept flicking down at Ivan's lips where his fangs jut out of his mouth.

Shifting uneasily as the two teens looked ready to pounce on each other and pick up where they left off, Winter coughed into his face and got a little more serious. "And, what on earth were you both doing? Why are there trash bags all over the floor?" he scowled, Ivan blushing hotly as he tried to describe their childish idea.

"We were, uhm… Making our costumes for the dance," he explained, the plan sounding absolutely ridiculous as his father just frowned at the mess on the floor. Alfred laughed weakly, the atmosphere still incredibly awkward for them both. The young demon couldn't sit still any longer, his anxiety reaching its boiling point as he lurched up from the couch, trying to hide the ruined bags as quickly as he could.

"We wanted to go as astronauts, but we didn't really think that through, uhm…"

"If you wanted a costume to wear, you could have just asked me, Ivan," the old man sighed, reaching back before fishing out his wallet. To both of their amazement, Winter counted out five bills worth twenty Mons each, passing them over to his shocked son. Ivan dumbly accepted the money, staring at it as Alfred's jaw lung loose in a startled 'O' shape. "That should cover it, shouldn't it?"

"Y-yes!" Ivan gasped and nodded quickly, holding the money close to his chest as if he were afraid his father would change his mind and swipe it away from him. The old vampire simply smiled somewhat, and Ivan resisted the urge to pinch himself awake from this dream.

"Come on then, dinner is getting cold," Winter huffed, and the two boys quickly bounding after him into the kitchen, all nervous yet definitely relieved smiles when they glanced at each other again. They had to be the luckiest teens alive!

[-]

"So, Alfred," Winter started off pleasantly enough, the young demon perking up at the sound of his name. Sitting at the Braginsky family's dining table certainly made his anxiety bubble in his chest, Alfred seated just to Ivan's left while the two vampires occupied the ends of the rectangular table. Ivan twitched somewhat, some of his pasta falling off of his fork when he froze up. "Tell me about yourself."

The succubus nervously looked to Ivan for support, his best friend just giving him a weak shrug as he set his fork down to his plate again, neither really knowing what to say or even where to begin. "Uh, what do you want to know?" Alfred hesitantly countered, turning to look at Ivan's father. The old vampire shrugged off the comment, dabbing at his beard with his cloth napkin when some sauce didn't quite make it into his mouth.

"I suppose a good way to start is for you to tell me more about your… species."

Ivan's heart stopped, for he just knew this conversation was one that was going to happen regardless of how well their first meeting could have gone. Submitting himself to his fate, Alfred fidgeted somewhat and dropped his gaze to his food, eyes scanning back and forth as he struggled to find the right words. "Well, I'm a succubus, pretty standard for most demons…"

"But you identify as male? Are you transgender?" Winter continued bluntly, not at all phased by the statement and his following question as Alfred instantly sputtered in embarrassment. Ivan glanced at his friend, his weak heart barely able to handle all of this confrontation and touchy subjects. Alfred quickly shook his head, looking up at Winter like a startled and frightened deer.

"No, I'm not trans, I'm… I was born male," he clarified, and Ivan hated the way Alfred's voice trembled as much as his hands did, the young demon terrified of his father. The old vampire certainly seemed interested in learning more about his son's friend, but didn't quite seem able to converse like most normal parents would, always beating around the bush and prying secrets from their children's clenched hands. No, Winter simply dove headfirst and without any inkling of hesitation, getting right to business and truth like any good politician should. "Well, I mean… it's hard to explain. The way papa got pregnant with me and Mattie wasn't normal at all, and the doctors say it was because of the freak pregnancy that I came out like… this."

"The doctors were the ones to classify you as a female demon despite your male body?" Winter continued, trying to wrap his head around the confusing topic as Alfred struggled to find the best way to explain it to him. With a slow nod, Alfred licked his lips and thought for a moment, doing his best not to get shaken up over the topic. It had never been easy for him to handle discussions about his deformity, or rather lack-there-of, and it was especially difficult now considering he truly wanted to leave a good impression on Ivan's father.

"Yeah. I mean, I've got, uhm… male parts, but they react the way a woman's would, if you, uhm… know what that means," Alfred blushed hotly, unable to maintain eye contact after admitting that one embarrassingly cruel detail about his anatomy. Winter nodded calmly, just shrugging aside the awkwardness as he continued to eat, the boys slowly following suit as that thick tension gathered again.

The silence proved hard to beat, Ivan and Alfred sharing minimal glances as they finished their meal, getting through it quickly since Winter had only bought enough for two, having not expected any visitors. Those icy blue eyes stared them down, and Ivan weakly glanced up at his father, hesitant to even do so much as look at him.

Clearing his throat to try clearing the air as well, Winter pressed on through the topics he wanted to discuss with his son and Alfred. "I also hope you understand everything there is to know about this sort of arrangement as well," Winter hummed, and the boys frowned at him in confusion, not quite understand what he meant. At the following silence, Winter glanced between them again, his lips pulled downwards in a small scowl. "Being a blood bank is a very serious commitment. You have to be prepared to spend your lifetime with your bank. What if you were to stop being friends, or one of you moves away? It is a very serious issue and I hope you truly comprehend just how important this is."

Ivan gasped and groaned, cheeks heating up before he quickly hid his face in his hands, Alfred frowning as he looked between the two vampires. "Uhm, yeah? Ivan said banks were pretty important, and that you wanted to help him find one. I didn't know you were already looking at candidates?" he tilted his head in confusion, his sentences choppy and broken as he stared at Ivan, his friend unable to meet his gaze as Winter looked equally confused.

"What, you haven't told him yet?" Winter asked a little bit too late, Ivan letting out a strained whimper as Alfred sucked in a breath and stared at him with a shocked and mildly horrified look. Sure, sometimes when they were kissing and touching he had let Ivan do that thing with his fangs where he ran them along his neck, but that had to have been because of the pleasure, right? Ivan didn't actually want to drink his blood, did he?

Although, the more he thought about it, the more his brain told him how exciting and thrilling that would be to experience. But then again, Ivan had said his fangs were damaged, so…

It seemed there was quite a lot Ivan wasn't telling to both him and his father.

Ivan slowly lowered his hands, absolutely mortified at this turn of events when he glanced apologetically at Alfred, unable to even speak to his friend. "I… I was going to ask you later, m-maybe at the dance," he stumbled over his words, hoping he didn't sound too much like a stupid fool as his father stood up from the table, gathering up the dishes.

"Ivan, that's…" Alfred couldn't find the words to say, just doing his best to think logically and rationally when all he could do was picture himself laid out in Ivan's coffin bed, moaning and arching up into his boyfriend as Ivan suckled from his neck like a baby to his mother's breast, the idea somehow incredibly erotic to him. Wait, no, stop that, we're just friends, he chastised himself and quickly shook his head, holding his breath as he shakily got to his feet. "I should go home. I-I'm sorry."

Ivan choked back a horrified gasp before lurching out of his seat after him, trying to stop him as Alfred rushed to get his backpack, Winter deftly moving out of their way. "W-wait, I'm sorry! Please, can't we talk about this?"

"There isn't anything to talk about, it's just getting late and I think Papa must be worried about me now," Alfred refused him coldly, rejecting every one of Ivan's attempts at pleading with him, slapping aside his hands as Ivan desperately tried to cling to him.

"Alfred, please don't just go-"

"I'll see you tomorrow," the other teen snapped sharply at him, his stance firm and unmoving as he stared at his best and only friend, Ivan wincing away from him like a chastised dog who didn't understand what he did wrong. Alfred eyed him down before relaxing somewhat, sighing heavily. "I have a lot of thinking to do, so I just… Just give me some space. I'll see you tomorrow."

"Oh… I… okay," Ivan murmured, just watching as Alfred gathered his belongings and left, the door slamming shut like a hammer nailing a coffin closed. Perhaps his luck with Alfred had run out the door with him...

Oh no whatever will happen next? As always, leave me a review 1(bad)-5(great!) if you enjoyed this chapter!